Cordeiro report; Season 3, VIR 1 & 2
Another year, something new, something old
I am fortunate. I have been blessed with great friends and family. For without them, I would be at home playing Forza on Xbox, as opposed to doing the real thing. April 23rd kicked off the first race weekend of the year with rounds 1 & 2 of Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). I was very excited for VIR because I had cut down a great lap time last years' race and ended last season with a great 2nd place finish at Road Atlanta. On top of that, the new kids on the block are super talented and push me to perform better.
Being a double header weekend, we had one practice, two qualifiers and two races. I was able to replicate my lap times from last year with 2min 14.xx seconds and placed 6th in times for practice. I was in good shape for qualifying, or so I thought. Maybe it was the long day, getting up at 5am and being out there till late in the day, but things didn't go my way. On a very rare occasion, do I ever go slower than my previous tries, and never have I gone slower for the rest of the day. I qualified at 2min 15.xx and 2min 16.xx for the first and second races. That put me starting at 12th and 13th grid positions.
I have never been so frustrated with producing lap times as this not so spectacular weekend. Mind over matter, I tried. I was anxious to blame something, anything that would give me an excuse to being slower than last year. Lets be practical, I have produced faster times last year and everyone else was getting faster, why couldn't I? What was I doing wrong? Why did I hit a brick time wall and then start to slip back? Argh. Some time ago I was working with a friend in the shop and I mentioned I was having a bad day and his reply was, " So what? I'm having a bad week!" So it clicked, I was having a bad weekend - it happens. I couldn't change where I qualified, I could only get my stuff together and focus on the races, were I perform better.
Saturday was race 1, I started 12th. Green light, great launch, made it to 10th by turn one. Lap three, down to seventh place. Cruising up the ladder, chasing the carrot. Carrots make rabbits go faster. Find the carrot. Need to go faster, try something new to find time. No brake for turn 10, just a small lift and back on it. Things were going great, used the whole track to make the most of my speed but then suddenly, in the left handed high speed sweeper, my right rear tire decided to "casually" trickle off the track. "This is exciting", I thought. Here I am, at 180 kmph, opposite lock steering, trying to catch the car down the hill on the absolute edge of adhesion. I just about caught the car and then all four wheels became light and airborne. The track fell away like a scaled down version of turn four at Mosport. Did a few spins and came to a stop dead center on the track on a high speed downhill blind turn. I should have worn diapers because I just about needed them! Five cars whizzed by me as I dodged to the grass and came back on at 12th position.
I shook it off down the back straight and collected myself. Did my best to curb the adrenaline as too much can make a driver wreck or pull stupid moves. Two laps later I was being drafted and passed by a new driver. Going into turn one I braked at the same spot I always do, making him earn the pass on me. He overshot his braking point and blew past me. It was a fantastic move for an over under. I went for it. Somehow, someway, he saved the car. It hooked at the edge of the track and headed back in towards the apex. WHAM. Two bulls collided. He went to protect his racing line and I went spinning off the track. Completely freight trained by the field, I came back on at 22nd. For those of you familiar, I thought F.M.L. What a great weekend I was having. I was fuming but somehow managed to keep my anger in check and I fought my way back down the ladder and finished 15th.
Sunday`s race was just as exciting, I promise! I qualified 13th and was up in top 10 by a few laps. Halfway into the race I was in a pack of four cars being second in line. I was making a pass on the lead car of the pack at turn one. Everything was going great until suddenly my car was smoked from behind by a veteran driver from last year. Apparently he made a bold attempt to pass all three cars from the back of our four car pack. He wasn`t successful at passing. But he was able to completely mangle the rear of my car, parts of the other cars nearby and amazingly tore off the front of his car. Hopefully he rethinks that move for next time. Driving an equal car, you`d probably realize that you can`t outbrake three others. Yes, I was furious. I took my twisted metal to a 9th place finish.
I am fortunate. For without my friends and family, it would have been very easy for me to give up that weekend. It was over the top, frustrating and disappointing. But they help me realize that life is just as Forrest Gump would say,"like a box of chocolates, you never know what you`re going to get" and they keep my head and spirit up in hard times. I am very thankful for all of you, for being in my life and guiding me into the future.
